Kilimanjaro spoils you for choice. There are six common routes as well as few less popular ones, all leading to the summit. By stated order of popularity, the traditional routes include the Machame, Marangu, Lemosho, Shira, Rongai and Umbwe routes. Choice is good, but it also adds complexity. How to even start?

This was my thinking process:

Go for the shortest route, because minimizing my days without shower was my number one priority.
-> Bad idea: The shorter your time to acclimatize, the lower your chances of reaching the summit.

Go for the toughest route for an extra challenge, which seemed to be ascending via the strenuous Western Breach.
-> Bad idea: The Western Breach is prone to rockfall. The risk of lethal accidents (even if small) always remains.

Go for the coolest camp, which seemed to be the Crater Camp all the way up right next to the glacier.
-> Bad idea: For high altitude first timers, you don’t know whether sleeping that high up will be fun or horror.

Go off into the wild, which means staying away from popular routes in order to avoid the crowds.
-> Good idea: Don’t all hikers prefer nature over mass market tourism? Clear winner – the Northern Circuit.

About

Three years ago I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa and was moved by the story of one of my porters. He had fallen sick while working and his employer – a local tour company – simply left him behind to die. That’s why I started this blog and built an Ethical Fair Travel company, FairVoyage.com, to end exploitation of human life in Kilimanjaro tours.

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